LEWISTON — The Lewiston School Committee voted Monday to remove part of the School Cancellation Policy so Superintendent Jake Langlais can dismiss school early, if necessary.
All but Elizabeth Eames and Craig Charpentier approved the changes on the first reading.
The current language restricts Langlais from sending students home early after the school day has started unless it is an emergency, such as the Dec. 18, 2023, storm that brought powerful winds, heavy rain, flooding and widespread power outages.
With the change, Langlais would be able to dismiss schools early if a major weather system created dangerous road conditions but does not live up to the definition of an emergency, according to the policy, he said.
Some parents have expressed frustration with him because he did not dismiss school early for some snowstorms that caused dangerous road conditions later in the day, he said.
Committee members voted to remove the clause “such notice shall be given sufficiently in advance of the school session in order to avoid confusion and inconvenience.”
A previous committee added the clause because they were concerned that a young child would be dropped off at home with no one there and the door locked, according to Langlais.
Eames and Donna Gallant both expressed those concerns during Monday’s meeting.
When Langlais decides to dismiss school early, there are staff members who ride on the bus with young students and follow them to their door to ensure that someone is home and the door is unlocked, Langlais said. If not, those students are taken back to the school and a contingency plan is developed.
“I just don’t want people thinking that a bus is going to pull up somewhere and just let kids out in a blizzard and drive away,” he said. “There’s another step in between.”
Member Meghan Hird said she trusts Langlais to make those decisions because he doesn’t do so hastily.
Member Ashley Medina encouraged parents to download communication apps, such as Teams, so they can contact their child’s teacher directly if they need to reach the school during an early dismissal and cannot by calling.
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